Japan is not ready or willing to accept an immigrant influx, says Barry Brophy
One of the great givens regarding Japan's aging population and declining birthrate is that an influx of immigrants, or "replacement migration," is needed if the nation's pension burden is not to become unmanageable, and the shrinking labor force harm the economy.
The introduction of foreign labor is an established and successful means of relieving labor shortages and, as has been the case in the U.S., a cause of increased productivity.
However, the promotion of large scale, long term immigration when applied to Japan at this time is flawed in several key respects.